Democratic Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, who represented the Rochester area of New York for more than 30 years, has died at 88.

Liam Fitzsimmons, chief of staff to Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter, confirmed that Slaughter died Friday morning surrounded by family at George Washington University Hospital after sustaining an injury in her Washington, D.C. home.

“To have met Louise Slaughter is to have known a force of nature," said her chief of staff, Liam Fitzsimmons. "She was a relentless advocate for Western New York whose visionary leadership brought infrastructure upgrades, technology and research investments, and two federal manufacturing institutes to Rochester that will transform the local economy for generations to come."

Slaughter was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and a Master of Science degree in Public Health. Soon after graduation, she and her husband, Robert “Bob” Slaughter, moved to Fairport, New York.

The two were married for 57 years, until he died in 2014. Together they had three daughters, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Slaughter was elected to Congress in 1986. She rose to become the first woman to chair the powerful House Committee on Rules since it was formally constituted on April 2, 1789, and was serving as its ranking member.

She authored authored the landmark Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, among many other accomplishments.

In 2006, Slaughter learned that 80 percent of Americans killed in the Iraq War due to upper body wounds could have survived with adequate body armor. She began a years-long effort to improve body armor safety standards. In 2009, she secured the recall and replacement of 16,000 pieces of unsafe body armor from the front lines.

As one of the longest-serving women in the House of Representatives, Slaughter was a prominent voice for women and diversity. She co-authored the landmark Violence Against Women Act, which has helped reduce cases of domestic violence by 67 percent since 1994.

In 2015, President Barack Obama said of Slaughter: “Louise Slaughter has proudly served in Congress for nearly three decades. As Chairwoman of the Rules Committee, she has shepherded landmark legislation like the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act, and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act through the House, and millions of Americans are better off because of it.”